Individuals and small business owners often rely on computer-based systems to create a budget, make timely bill payments, maximize investments, and effect various other financial transactions. Using a budget allows individuals and small business owners to set and achieve financial goals. Such financial goals include, for example, retirement, saving for a home purchase, paying for college, and growing a small business.
Existing computer-based systems attempt to accommodate an individual's or a small business owner's customized financial goals by providing automated bill payment, budgeting software, and spending alerts. These existing computer-based systems allow a user to amend the budget when financial conditions change, such as an increase or decrease in income, the birth of a new child, a new client, and many others. If a change in financial conditions occurs, and if it is desirable that financial goals of a higher priority are achieved before those of a lower priority, existing systems require the user to amend the budget manually.
What is a lacking in the existing computer-based systems is the automatic adjustment of an individual's or a small business owner's budget and cash flows, based on prioritized financial goals, when financial conditions change. An automatic adjustment, without requiring any action from the individual or small business owner, would greatly increase the likelihood that financial goals of a higher priority are met more quickly or at all. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide individuals and small business owners with a computer-based system for budget automation and financial management that would adjust cash flows on-the-fly, in accordance with a preset prioritized set of financial goals, when financial conditions change. The subject invention is directed to these, as well as other, needs.